Luggage



Jan. l5, 1929. 1,698,848

F. H. LANGMUIR LUGGAGE Filed June l1, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR;

F. H. LANGMUIR LUGGAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 11 Patented Jan. 15, 1929.

UNITED STATES FRANK HOW LANGMUIR, OF NEWARK, .NEW JERSEY',

TRUNK COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F '1,698,848- PATENT ori-Ica y NEW JERSEY.

` LUGGAGE.

yApplication led June 11, 1827. Serial lo. 198,078.

and compact; to fold the skirts or lower parts y of long coats and the like so as to shorten the space required for the garment and also render the folded portion substantially the thickness of the upper part or shoulders; t0 thus enable the arments to be more evenly packed, with less ooseness and likelihood of displacement and crumpling in transit; to automatically fold the skirts or lower parts of the garments into place; to secure simplicity of construction and operation, and to obtain other advantages ,and results as may be broughtout in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wardrobe trunk to which my invention is applied;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view looking edgewise of the wardrobe compartment of the trunk, showing the way garments are first inserted therein;

Figure 3 is a front view thereof; 'Figure is a view corresponding to Fig. 2

illustrating with a single garment the posi' tion of parts when the trunk is packed, and v Figure 5 is a front view 0f the same.

In the s ecific embodiment of the invention illustrated) in said drawings, the reference numerals 1', 2 indicate the two sections of a trunk of the wardrobe type, one section, as 1,

having a compartment 3 therein for hanging garments on properly supported garment hangers 4, and the other section 2 having a tier of drawers 5 therein as is common and well-known in the art. Heretofore ithasl been sought to make the trunk or other luggage long enough to accommodate garments such as coats so that most of them would not more than reach the lower end of the trunk;

no provision was made for such garments that were too long for the compartment, and they would get badly wrinkled in packing and theh in transit. This not only tended toward manufacture and use of large and bulky luggage, b ut .also `proved unsatisfactory because since the vgarments have much less thickness at their lower portions than at their upper portions, due partly to the thickness of angers, space was wasted at the bottom of the wardrobe portion.

A.In carrying out the compartment 3, wherein garments are to be A hung, is made much shorter than the usual garments which are to be packed therein, and the skirts of the .garments are folded and held smooth-ly in place approximatel as thick as the shoulders. Heretofore a ollower has been employed for holdin .the garments pressed against the back of te compartment, and in the present invention, such a follower .AssIG'Non 'ro mx present invention, the

is also used for the additional purpose vof effecting a proper fold transversely of the garments. he particular follower shown herein consistsofa transverse rod 6 of a length substantially the width of the tunk compartment and adapted to be hooked into appropriate socket members 7 7 therefor ntpth'e sides of the compartment near the bottom and toward ythe rear thereof. Near each end of the rod is a spiral spring Sconnected to a. bar

9 which in turn is mounted in the hem' of a' curtain 10, which is secured .at its upper end a the top and rear of said compartment. When the trunk is packed, therefore, the curtain 10 maybe drawn over the top ofthe hangers, ldownwardly in front of the'garments vand then by pushing downwardly and rearwardly 'upon the rod 6 the garments will be rushed back into place ready for folding an the ends of the rod are then hooked into place in socket members 7, 7 with 'springs 8,

8 under tension. Any other form of follower f providinga cross-membernear the bottom of the compartment around which the garments can be folded upward may be emeployed, however.-

lAs ,an essential part of the present inven-y tion, a folder 11 is provided for enabling the skirts of the garment which extend beyond said cross-rod 6 to be folded into place. 'Ihis folderfll isherein shown as a substantially-A shaped structure composed of a single len of stock such as heavy wire or rod, providing a middle ortion 12 of a. length approximately the wi th of the com artment and side tions 13 which are pre erably parallel an ofequal length. In

manufacture, the length of' said side portions 13 is made tovequal the length desired for the folded lower ends of the garments,v and the extremities of said side portions 13 are suitably pivoted to the trunk section, as byv being bent in thepresent show ing to provide trunnions for insertion in fixed ears 14. These ears are shown formed by the upturned ends of a bar 15 secured to the bottom 16 of the co1npartment,l. saidbar being preferably back from the front edge of the vcompartment so when the bailis swung down thefront edge ofthe compartment forms a ledgev to support it, butobviously the .bail ,could be pivotally. mounted in any suitable ando. Sprin detents 19maybe provided -,on theside wal s of thelcompartment to engage. the side portions 13 of thebailwhen said ybail is swungup, and preferably thesevdetents 19 are, adapted to hold thebail'in any one of a .series of positions according to the number of-garments in the compartment. Because 'of the saving in length of the compartment 3 for the garments, by,use of my i352 invention in an'ordinaryl trunk, it ispractical provide a drawer 20 inthebottom of the itrunk section. It is, however,not necessary i .,jfto yprovide this drawer,.as the article of lug- Y Any other form o fia folder to produce.

Legame departing from the spirit and scope of the in-i 5%.

vention, and I do not wish to be understood as v' limiting myself except as required by the fol-l lowing claims when construed in the light of; the rior art.

aving thus described the invention, what' I claim is:

1. In an article of luggage having a compartment for hanging garments therein, a follower adjacent the bottom of said compartment around which garments may be folded, and a folder cornprisino a cross-bar lying beneath the lower forward parts of the garments as they are inserted and capable of being elevated rearwardly to fold said garments around said follower.

2. ln an article of luggage having a compartment for hanging garments therein, a follower around which said garments may be folded, a folder, means for pivotally mounting said folder in the lower part of said compartment, said folder having a portion spaced rom said pivotal mountin to swing against and with said garments or folding them Iaround said follower.

FRANK H. LANGMUR. 

